Today started off with devotions at the church beside the main building in the Field Studies Centre compound after a hearty breakfast. The church was quite large and was beautifully decorated with stained glass windows. We then had our usual morning class from 9.30 to 10.30am, where we were briefed about the field work that was to follow on freshwater ecology. The hypothesis that we were given was that the abundance of freshwater invertebrates depended on the abiotic factors of the river.
Then, we headed to Exmoor National Park to carry out the said field studies. We learnt how to collect invertebrate samples from various parts of the river riffles and pools through kick sampling and stone washing, and also collected data of the abiotic conditions of the rivers. We counted the number of various invertebrates located in the samples that we took, and weighed out the different factors that could affect their abundance in the different sites that we visited. We were meant to take samples from four sites in total, but due to lack of time, we only went to three sites. While walking from site to site, we saw many different kinds of animals, such as deer, ponies and sheep.
When we headed back to Nettlecombe, using the data that we had collected earlier in the day, we evaluated how the various abiotic factors could affect the abundance of the different kinds of invertebrates found in the rivers, as well as the different adaptations they have developed.
Sadly, today was our last day of field work. :( We bade farewell to our lovely tutors Harry and Anelma. London, here we come!
It's great seeing you all getting first hand experience doing this!
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